demicians.' The noise increased--he opened the door, and burst in upon them, exclaiming, You are a set of damned wild beasts, and I am your blasted keeper.' The students laughed, and Fuseli retired smiling. Another time he saw a figure from which the students were making drawings lying broken to pieces. Now who the devil has done this?''Mr. Medland, Sir,' said an officious probationer, 'he jumped over the rail and broke it.' He walked up to the offender-all listened for the storm. He calmly said, ́ Mr. Medland, you are fond of jumping-go to Sadler's Wells-it is the best academy in the world for improving agility. A student as he passed held up his drawing, and said confidentially, Here, Sir-I finished it without using a crumb of bread.'- All the worse for your drawing,' replied Fuseli, buy a twopenny loaf and rub it out." 'What do you see, Sir?' he said one day to a student, who, with his pencil in his hand, and his drawing before him, was gazing into vacancy. Nothing, Sir,' was the Nothing, young, man!' said the Keeper, emphatically, then I tell you that you ought to see something you ought to see distinctly the true image of what you are trying to draw. I see the vision of all I paint-and I wish to heaven I could paint up to what I see.'

answer.

6

"He reserved a little of his wit and satire for his elder brethren of the easel and the modelling stool. He had aided Northcote and Opie in obtaining admission into the Academy, and when he proposed himself for Keeper naturally expected their assistance—they voted against him, and next morning went together to his house to offer an explanation. He saw them coming-he opened the door as they were scraping their shoes, and said, 'Come in-come in-for the love of hea ven come in, else you will ruin me entirely. How so?' cried Opie. Marry, thus,' replied the other, my neigh. bours over the way will see you, and say, Fuseli's done for there's a bumbailiff,' he looked at Opie, going to seize his person; and a little Jew broker,' he looked at Northcote, going to take his furniture ;-so come in, I tell you-come in!'

·

On Northcote especially he loved to exercise some of the malevolence of rival wit. He looked on his friend's painting of the angel meeting Balaam and his ass. How do you like it?' said the painter. Vastly, Northcote,' said Fuseli,' you are an angel at an ass-but an ass at an angel.' A person who desired to speak to the Keeper of the Academy, followed so close on the porter, whose business it was to introduce him, that he

"Fuseli spared no one: on Nollekens he was often very merciless; he disliked him for his close and parsimonious nature, and rarely failed to hit him under the fifth rib. Önce at the table of Coutts the banker, Mrs. Coutis, dressed like Morgiana, came dancing in, presenting her dagger at every breast; as she confronted the sculptor, Fusili called out, Strikestrike-there's no fear; Nolly was never known to bleed.' When Blake, a man infinitely more wild in conception thau Fuseli himself, showed him one of his strange productions, he said, 'Now some one has told you this is very fine.'Yes,' said Blake, the Virgin Mary appeared to me, and told me it was very fine: what can you say to that?'-' Say,' exclaimed Fuseli, why nothing-only her ladyship has not an immaculate taste.' Family Library.

'

THE YELLOW FAMILY.

"The

AN article in Blackwood, upon Art of Dressing the Human Body," written in a sportive vein, and containing such a judicious admixture of the caustic with it, as to make it take a proper effect, contains the following ludicrous picture.

"A slavish adherence to custom is very bad, but an absolute running counter to it is equally so. A dress which is in accordance with the age, complexion, and situation of any one, can never be wondered at as out of the way, nor laughed at as not being in the fashion. It people go to condole with an acquaintance on the death of her husband, which happened last week, it would perhaps not be quite correct to do so on their way to a ball, with spangles glistening over their gowns, and silver laurel-leaves shining on their foreheads. But perhaps as bad. as that would be, to go to an assembly, dressed in the sable suits of woe,' to waltz with a widow's veil upon their heads, or jump through a reel with weepers on their sleeves. Dresses ought to be adapted also to the occupation the wearer intends to pursue. How ridiculous a gentleman would appear if he dug in his garden with white kid gloves on his hands, and dancing shoes on his feet!

How absurd a lady would seem, mending her husband's worsted stockings, dressed all the time in her ball-room finery! But enough of this. Fathers have odd fancies, and dress their family more in accordance with their own taste than their daughters' appearances. We called, when we were last in Suffolk, on an old friend of ours, whom we had not seen for many years. He was a humorist in his way, and was blessed with the most complete eredulity, mixed with the least quantity of shrewdness, of any matter-of-fact individual we ever knew. Old Simon's reception of us was kind, his invitation to stay with him was pressing, and we stayed. The room in which we saw him was remarkably well furnished; but the sun was shining bright-it was the middle of summer-and the whole apartment was one blaze of light. The curtains of the windows were of the most dazzling yellow-the carpet was yellow, with here and there a blue spot on it-the walls were yellow-the grate was yellow-the chairs and sofas all of the same hue-and all the pictures round the room were enshrined in bright yellow frames. Our old friend himself, from the reflection of the colour, was as yellow in the face as a jaundiced man, or a new brass button; and our eyes began to be affected by gazing on the same changeless, unmitigated tint. We asked him for a snuff, and a yellow box containing Lundifoot was immediately put into our hands. We drew from our pocket a handkerchief, which unfortunately was of the fated hue. 'Beautiful handkerchief!' exclaimed our friend; such a very lovely colour! Pray sir, let me see. Ay, real Bandana; and such a bright glowing yellow!'- Yes,' we replied, resolving to play a little on the simplicity of our friend; it is a good handkerchief; and it is sometimes right to run a little risk, though a cloth of any other shade would do just as well, and not be at all dangerous.'- Dangerous! risk!' exclaimed our yellow friend, with a slight tinge of blue spreading over his features What can you be talking of? Yellow is the very best colour of them all. My gig is yellow-my carriage is yellow-keep no birds but canariesand what do you talk about risks and dangers for?' Then you haven't heard the discovery made by the German metaphysicians, that our thoughts take the colour of what is presented to the senses? -Yellow is a most dangerous colour yellow thoughts make people misers, pickpockets, and murderers.''God have mercy upon us all! if that's the case; for I'm sure my thoughts must be yellow, beyond the power of man to change them.

My wife's thoughts must be yellow as this sofa. And Mary, poor dear yellowthoughted Mary! what shall I do to dye them?'- Give them a slight infusion,' we said, as solemnly as possible, of blue damask furniture: and let Mary be feasted on a green silk pelisse.'—‘Ah now,’ said our friend, 'I know you're only joking.-Curse metaphysics! I never could understand a word of them in my life. Feast on a green silk pelisse! Ha, ha! I'll tell Mary what a supper you propose.'-' Me, sir-serious as a judgeeven in the time we have been here, we feel as if ill of the yellow fever.'- Fever!' cried Simon, wofully alarmed, is it infectious? How pale you look!Shall I ring the bell, sir? Mary, Mary, do leave the room; the yellow fever is raging here already, and all from these confounded yellow curtains! The gentleman has swallowed a sofa-cover!How do you feel now, sir?'—' A few yards, properly applied, or a dark green crumb-cloth, would be most advantageous. A black coal-scuttle would also be a great relief' We looked at Mary as we said this, and saw a very pretty lit tle girl of seventeen or eighteen, dressed all in the everlasting colour-yellow from top to toe, her very hair being slightly golden, and her sandals of yellow silk. Her mother also came in, and was closely followed by a servant in yellow livery. All seemed fixed in the utmost astonishment. We ourselves sat quietly on the sofa, after having bowed to the ladies while Simon went on with a string of questions and explanations, which were totally unintelligible to them; and ended at last with a denunciation of his favourite furniture, which seemed to give great satisfaction to his wife and daughter.

6

We were remarking to Mr. Yellowy, when you came in, madam,' we said to the lady, in our usual bland and insinuating manner, that we thought this room would be somewhat improved by the addition of some furniture of a different colour, and he seems now to agree with us in opinion.' God bless me !' cried Simon, stopping short in his walk,- [ understood you to say you had been infected by the furniture with the yellow fever; that the fever had made you mad, and you wished to swallow a crumbcloth, and sup on the coal-scuttle. Mary was to eat a green pelisse, and you, my dear, were to be treated with an infusion of a chest of drawers.' We immediately explained; and the ladies, who seemed accustomed to Simon's absurdities, were easily satisfied of his mistake; more especially as he promised them dresses of the colours they themselves should prefer ;

Health" to the serious attention of our readers, as a work of sound sense, deserving, for the correct judgment displayed in it, a place in the library of every family.

Snatches from Oblivion.

Out of the old fields cometh the new corn. SIR EDWARD COKE.

POISON TAKERS.

LOOKING Over the rare and curious volumes of the learned Samuel Purchas, the author of the Pilgrimages, we find the following, which we lay before our readers for their entertainment.

Old Samuel, describing Cambaia, (Guzzerat), says that "It bestowed the name on the whole Kingdome, which they call the Indian Cairo, for the excellence thereof; it standeth three myles from INDUS. The tides here increase not, as with us, at the full, but at the decrease of the moone they are at the highest. It is not a hundred and threescore yeares since Machamut, a Moore, expelled the Guzarat King.

"This Muchamut deserveth mention for one thing, wherein the sunne hath

scarce beheld his like. He so accustomed himselfe to poysons, that no daye passed wherein he took not some; for else he

himself had died, sayth Barbosa, as it fareth with Amfian, or Opium, the use whereof killeth such as never tooke it, and the disuse such as have. And be yond that which we read of Mithridates in the like practice; his nature was transformed into so venomous a habit, that if he did meane to put any of his nobles to death, he would cause them to be set before him, and chewing certaine fruits in his mouth which they call Chofolos and Tombolos, with lime made of shells, by spitting upon him, in one half-houre deprived him of life; if a flye sat upon his hand, it would presently fall off dead. Neither was his love to be preferred to his hatred, or with women was his dealing lesse deadly. For he had four thousand concubines, of whom none lived to see a second sunne, after he had knowne them. His mustaches, (or haire of his upper lippe), was so long, that he bound it up on his head, as women do with a hairelace; and his beard was white, reaching to his waste. Every day when he arose, and when he dined, fiftie elephants were brought into the Pallace, to do him reverence on their knees, accompanied with

trumpets and other musicke.

"Cœlius Rhodiginus mentions the like of a maid, thus nourished with poysons, her spittle being deadly. He cites a like example out of Avicenne, of a man whose nature, infected with a stronger venome, poysoned other venomous creatures, if any did bite him. And when a greater serpent was brought for triall, he had by the biting thereof a two days fever; but the serpent died."

The Naturalist.

THE EARWIG.

We glean the following facts from that highly instructive periodical, Gili's Technological Repository, which we recommend earnestly to the attention of our readers. The number for the present month is extremely rich in valuable information, and we take shame to ourselves for not having turned our attention towards the contents of its pages before: we shall occasionally enrich our pages by further extracts from it.

"It is a circumstance extremely singular, that, unlike those of most others of the insect tribes, the eggs of the earwig are hatched, and the young ones fostered by the parent. In the beginning of the month of June, M. De Geer found under a stone, a female earwig, accompanied by many little insects, which evidently appeared to be her own young. They remained close to her, and often placed themselves under her body, as chickens do under a hen. He placed the whole in a box of fresh earth; they did not enter the earth, but it was pleasing to observe how they thrust themselves under the body, and between the legs, of the mother, who remained very quiet, and suffered them to continue there sometimes for an hour or two together. To feed them, this gentleman gave them a piece of a very ripe apple; in an instant, the old one ran upon it, and eat it with a good appetite; the young ones also seemed to eat a little, but apparently with much less relish. On the eighth of June, he remarked that the young earwigs had changed their skins; and he also found the sloughs that they had quitted. This casting of their skins produced only a slight change in their figure, yet it evidently brought them nearer in shape to the per

fect insect.

April, he also found a female earwig under "At another time,about the beginning of some stones, placed over a heap of eggs, and of which she took all the care imaginable, without ever forsaking them. He took both the female and her eggs, and

earth, and disposed the eggs up and down